Review by Booklist Review
Snow Leopard is the first culprit. He sneezes just once, but it's a doozy that sets off a chain reaction. African Elephant follows with a RRRrrr-eeeEEE-ahh-PHOOOO!!! and a tree goes down; Hippo's sneeze erupts a mud volcano, which covers Giraffe; Giraffe's sneeze sends chunks of dried mud ( chocolaty gunk ) flying. Finally, the animals' vet shows up with a cure: a superfizzy drink, which would seem to make the situation worse but doesn't. Although the plotline is fairly well worn, and the text is occasionally too descriptive ( Mud was covering the animals is clear in the art, for example), the dramatic sound effects set off in a larger, different color font are sure to be a hit with toddlers at storytime. Smith's muted pen-and-ink, watercolor, and Photoshop images brim with humans and animals wearing funny expressions, and they capture the chaos well. A tiny note on the back flap invites kids to extend the fun: Compare the zoo before and after the big ah-choooo and spot the differences.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Yawns can be contagious, but sneezes? They sure are in this strangely sedate offering from Mandel (Jackhammer Sam) and Smith (Stalling), in which "a sleepy Sunday at the City Zoo" is disrupted by a snow leopard's sneeze, with other animals following suit. Mandel has fun with the over-the-top sneeze sounds the animals make-the elephant's "RRRrrr-eeeEEE-ahh-PHOOOO!!!" takes down a tree and flattens a fence, and the hippo's "Kah-bah-RUMppphhhHHHH!!!" causes a mud volcano. Yet for all these outsize consequences, the brunt of the prose is overly descriptive and flat ("The Zookeeper knew he had to act. Act fast. Flamingos were floating. Foxes were fishing. The Polar Bear hung on to his iceberg"), and the quick-fix ending is unsatisfying. Smith's pen, ink, and watercolor cartoons feature wide-eyed animals, perplexed zoo visitors, and plenty of geyserlike explosions, but never really create a true sense of chaos. The book ends as sleepily as it begins, with the animals snoozing (a gag that regular zoo-goers will appreciate), and even the promise of a second round of silliness isn't enough to rescue this outing. Ages 3-6. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-"It was a sleepy Sunday at the City Zoo..Suddenly, something unsleepy. flew through the zoo! It was a Zoo Ah-choooo." The Snow Leopard's sneeze proves contagious, and pretty soon all the animals are sneezing, causing havoc. The Zookeeper acts quickly and calls the vet, who prescribes a "Superfizzy sneeze solution." Things quiet down, but-what is that? "A Leopard's YAWN..Did anyone hear it?" Lively pen-and-ink, watercolor, and Photoshop cartoon illustrations join with the humorous text to tell the tale with panache. The story is similar to several others, including Patricia Thomas's "'Stand Back,' Said the Elephant, 'I'm Going to Sneeze!'" (Lothrop, 1971) and E. S. Redmond's Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo (Candlewick, 2009). However, the illustrations are entertaining and each animal has a different sneeze sound, which will appeal to young listeners. For collections that do not own the earlier titles or want another sneeze book, this will be a popular choice.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
One lazy Sunday at the zoo, the Snow Leopard sneezes ("Ah-chooOO!"), and the African Elephant follows suit ("RRRrrr-eeeEEE-ahh- / PHOOOO!!!"), setting off a chain reaction of noise and flying debris that the tireless zookeeper finally stops. Readers may or may not note the story's ultimate pointlessness (other than to amuse). Smith gets the mood right: equal parts mayhem and merriment. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
